SN Tripathi Memorial Lectures (2011)…

Ms Bharati Chaturvedi

Bharati Chaturvedi is the founder of an India based non-profit, NGO - Chintan . Environmental Research and Action Group. The NGO works to reduce ecological footprints and increase environmental justice amongst the informal sector through
green jobs, advocacy and organizing.She is part of various government committees for policy making. Bharati writes a column for the Hindustan Times and blogs with the
Huffington Post.She has a Masters degree in History from Delhi University and a Masters in International Public Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies, Johru Hopkins University. She is the editor of 'Finding Delhi: Loss and Renewal in the Megacity,' published by Penguin India (October 2010). Bharati is the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Johns Hopkins Alumni "Knowledge for the World Award".She has previously received the LEAD fellowship and is a fellow at the Synergos Institute, New York.

Since 1995, there is over 30% rise in the emission of Green House
Gases from waste.The proportion of overall emissions from waste is
6.7%.

About 3-5% emission from Green House Gases is contributed by the waste and 62% waste is organic. Organic waste rots.

Most of the countries of the world put waste in Landfills that emit methane.

Making products in 1ton of waste requires 10 barrels of oil,equivalent to over 3 tons of C02•

Climate Change, India, and Waste

1. The third largest emitter of Green House Gases in the world

• 5% of global total
• Low per-capita emissions

2. Emissions from waste are twice the rest of the Asian countries

The Trends

There are main three trends visible in regard to waste

• Over 40% waste is organic
• Plastics increased from 0.6% to 9.2% from 1996 to 2005. This indicates that on one hand we have become more affluent, but on the other we are generating more and more waste.
• Paper has increased from 3.6% to 8.1%